I've spent alot more money on units that were not as good as this unit.
Sure you have to get your own hard drive but why pay for a hard drive whose price has dropped since the recorder was put in the box.
I paid $[...] for a 300G hard drive in town, that I installed myself making the total cost of the unit under 500.00.
Search the web and see how much a Networkable 4 channel DVR with a 300 G drive costs. And hope it works if you buy it.